Loew announces provisional squad

Germany coach Joachim Loew named uncapped duo Julian Draxler and Marc-Andre ter Stegen in his provisional Euro 2012 squad on Monday.

The 18-year-old Draxler, a midfielder from Schalke, and 20-year-old Borussia Moenchengladbach goalkeeper Ter Stegen were the surprise selections in Loew’s 27-man squad for the upcoming tournament in Poland and Ukraine.

“Draxler is a player with lots of potential,” Loew said.

“He is very young with potential to develop. His strength is in playing one-on-one situation and he is very fast. He plays in a very intelligent way.

“Of course he doesn’t have the consistency yet. He is very young. He could still play at the under-19 level. But as the coaching team, we think that he has great potential for next month and many years to come.”

Loew also said he wants to focus on football and not politics ahead of the European Championships.

The controversial jailing of Ukraine’s former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has led to calls from some quarters that teams should abandon the tournament.

“Obviously when all players are together we will discuss the political situation in the Ukraine,” Loew said.

“As a coach I say that we are not the world police. First and foremost we want to have success as sportsmen and we will focus on our tasks at the tournament.”

Midfielder Ilkay Gundogan is also called up despite having won just one cap, while Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker is selected despite having not played since February after suffering an ankle injury.

In addition to Ter Stegen, Werder Bremen goalkeeper Tim Wiese, Hanover’s Ron-Robert Zieler and Bayern Munich shot-stopper Manuel Neuer have all been named as goalkeepers.

The squad will be trimmed to 23 players on May 29, with the tournament to start on June 8.